Hello there, my friend and I came up with an idea for a simple game, the problem is, the game has two requisites:

- Must be either 3D or isometric.

- Must be for mobile, so the engine need to iteract with the accelerometer.

I want to create a simple prototype, but I have no experience with isometric graphics (and I really think this would be better using 3D). The engine I use mostly for my prototypes (Orx) is 2d and does support the accelerometer. Is there any free 3D engine that supports IOS/Android? I have seen that OpenScene graph compiles for both systems, but I found the documentation to be a lacking.

I could use some engine suggestions (I have experience using C and python).

I can recommend http://unity3d.com/. Very easy to use, powerful and you can become productive quickly. It has support for multiple platforms, including iOS/Android. I believe you can make games for those platforms even with the free license (although under restrictions).

I'm not sure if you can access the accelerometer directly from their engine, but I'm certain they allow you to write wrappers to access the underlying OS features. I know a project where we had our native cross-platform library which we could load independently of the platform used through the same C# wrapper code in Unity and through it we could directly use android/iOS library.

Typically you code the game in C#, Javascript or Boo. You also have access to .NET through Mono, which is extremely handy.

If I was an indie just wanted to create a game that would be my engine of choice any day of the week.

I would second the use of Unity. However, the free version does not build to mobile. You can still work on your game in the mean time, and then choose to purchase the Android/iOS build ability after you feel comfortable its a a good stage to start demoing.

The prices are

- Unity = Free,

- Android Build Addon = 400$

- iOS Build Addon = 400$

Additionally, if you want the pro route, for Pro Unity, Pro Android and Pro iOS packs, it comes to around 4500$.

Those are per person prices.

Again, I have interest in building my unity game out to tablets/phones as well, but I'm building it in the free version until its a good point to demo, and then possibly try a crowd funder to pay for the licensing.

Edited by Dan Violet Sagmiller, 08 May 2013 - 09:44 AM.

Moltar - "Do you even know how to use that?"

Space Ghost - “Moltar, I have a giant brain that is able to reduce any complex machine into a simple yes or no answer."

If you think a 2d engine could do the job, you should look at GameMaker Studio from http://www.yoyogames.com. It has a history of being known as a "toy" but the reality is that it is quite powerful. The system can also export to iOS and Android and supports mobile inputs, including the accelerometer.

It is much cheaper than Unity, but by the same token, it is less capable. For 3d, it can do some, but it is not meant for it so is limited. For 2d, it is great, and much more capable than Unity. By 2d I mean real sprites, not just 2d gameplay in a 3d world. Unity can do it, but not easily.

The scripting language is C-like, and is fully capable of pretty much anything you'd want to do. It has easy methods to have objects interact, and all the major code constructs like for loops and switch:case: statements. The system is relatively simple to understand. Generally, things work as you would expect, though there are a few things that could be awkward.

You could look at several games made with GMStudio that have been published by YoyoGames themselves on iOS and Android. They are pretty simple games, and for sure more complicated things can be made with it, but at least these should give you some examples.